Orange Almond
by Miraculous Pink Ninja
Summary: Amanda just wanted to help her school raise money, but after running about of products, her friend, May, calls her cousin, April. It wasn't /that/ bad until April gets the news of a poisoned turtle. Amanda is also concerned for April's friend, forces April to bring her to him. Of course, that didn't go as planned, but whatever does?
1. Chapter 1

**TMNT © Nick**

 **OCs © MPN**

 **Perfect Together by Rosanna Pansino**

 **This is fanfiction, everything you see here is fiction. Places and names were made up, and any similarities with any real life places or names are totally coincidental.**

 **Enjoy :)**

She woke to the smell of freshly baked bread.

 _Okay, scratch that._

She woke to the smell of freshly baked pastries. The sweet smell of vanilla essence breached the comforts of her room, not that she minded.

With a smile, she got up and stretched, greeted by the warm sunlight from her window.

 _It was another day._

She took a warm shower and threw on a purple tank top under a sleeveless brown crop-top and jeans.

"Justine, dear," her mom called, "are you up yet?"

Justine playfully rolled her eyes. "Yeah, mom, I'm up," she replied, "I'll be down in just a moment."

"Sure thing, hon," Mrs Baker yelled. "She's coming down, Amanda," she told her younger daughter.

Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I think I got it the first time," she smiled, stifling her laughter. The soft ding of the oven along with the alarm of the egg timer at the same time made her giggle. "Guess my cake's ready," she chuckled bitterly, " _both_ of them."

Mrs Baker smiled, "Don't worry about the fundraiser, darling, I'm sure it'll go just fine," she said, placing a hand on Amanda's shoulder. Amanda looked up from her freshly baked cake with a smile.

"Okay, mom," she said, voice no louder than a whisper, making her mother smile a tad wider.

Mrs Baker's hand slid off her shoulder. "Now remember: when Justine gets here, be sure to give her that," her mom said, gesturing to a dish underneath a cover. "And be sure to load the goods in the van, alright?"

"Yes, mom," Amanda replied with a smile, letting the cake cool on the stove counter.

"Good," Mrs Baker smiled, "I'll be in my office." Just as she was at the kitchen doorway, she looked over her shoulder. "I'm sure he's _very_ proud of you." As her office door closed with a click, Amanda got out the cake from the fridge.

" _Is that strawberry?_ "

"No, chocolate, actually," Amanda replied, placing down the frosted cake on the marble countertop.

"Can I have a taste?" Justine asked, throwing an arm around her younger sister's shoulder while pointing at the cake.

Amanda chuckled as she gestured to the cake scraps placed inside a plastic container. "Take your pick," she said as Justine walked over and ate cake scraps for breakfast.

9

"Have you guys ever wondered what would happen if we weren't _us_?"

"What do you mean, 'what would happen if we weren't us?'" Justine echoed.

"What are you talking about, May?" Amanda asked, turning to her friend.

"You know..." May started, "What would the world be like if Amanda was a sweet and shy girl, if Justine was less of an attention-seeker, if **I** was an **introvert**?"

"You and introvert without 'not' in between in one sentence?" the eldest in the group asked, "I don't think that it's possible."

"But what if it was?" May asked, brown eyes widening in wonder.

"May," Amanda called gently, placing her hand on her friend's, "This kind of stuff will only stress you out. _Sure_ , things **would** be different if we weren't ourselves, but if it was from the _beginning_ , I guess it wouldn't be **so** bad, if it was _at all_."

"Well, I guess you're right... as usual," May giggled.

"Plus it makes a really good bet," Justine added, getting weird looks from the other two, "Just saying," she shrugged.

The three girls laughed and chatted while they finished setting up their booth. The school gym slowly began to fill with people, and not one of them could resist coming over to the trio's booth, taking a pastry. The school staff eventually closed the building temporarily, allowing the volunteers get ready for the next wave of people that afternoon.

"R&R," Justine joked, "Rest and restocking, mostly restocking for us."

"Not that I'm angry at you, but did you really think that all those sweets would last the _entire_ day?" May asked Amanda.

"I considered the school location, the way the word got around, the way Justine would lure people over, our booth location and size…" Amanda thought out loud, "Yes, I thought it would," she confessed as she hid her head in her arms on the table, embarrassed.

"Don't worry, we still got a couple of hours before the school reopens the building," Justine said.

"But among all of us, Amanda's the only one who knows how to bake," May said, "If we help her, it might not taste the same."

"We _might_ ," Justine repeated, then her eyes widened in hope, "But if Amanda pre-makes the frosting, we'd be able to decorate the cakes ourselves as _she_ makes them."

"But letting the frosting set will take _hours_ ," Amanda said, lifting her head up, "and even if we crank the chill up _and_ stuff it in the freezer, it'll at least take half an hour to decorate the cake, and another fifteen minutes to sign it and pack it."

"Can't you just pre-make the signature too?" May asked.

"Sadly, no," Amanda sighed sadly, eyes downcast. "Plus the kitchen isn't big enough!"

As of then, hope seemed to be lost. The three girls dwelled on the hopeless silence that pressured them to death.

"What if we did it _here_?" May asked.

"You mean bake the pastries?" Justine asked.

"Justine," Amanda called sternly, "I doubt that Principal Jason will allow us to use it."

"But the Anna and her snobby little friends use it all the time!"

"That's because they're part of the cooking club. They have been granted unlimited access to the kitchen just as the literature club has been granted unlimited access to the library."

" _Oh_."

"Then how 'bout this," Justine suggested, "What if we made cake pops out of the scraps in the kitchen? We could sell those while Amanda makes more pastries. You _did_ bake a whole lot of cakes _and_ cupcakes, sis."

"Well yeah, but I can't bake, decorate, box, _and_ bring the cakes here all by myself!" Amanda said.

"Who said that you were?" May asked smugly, crossing her arms.

9

April rolled her eyes at another one of Mikey's jokes, which apparently offended Raph, so now the latter was chasing the former around the lair, and if Leo wasn't around she was pretty sure that Mikey would be running through the sewer system by now.

"Leo, save me, dude!" Mikey pleaded.

Leo let out an exhausted sigh. Poor turtle didn't get any sleep the past week or so. " _No_ , Mikey," Leo said sternly, but he still sounded tired, "You made him angry and now you have to face the consequences."

"Dude, **what**?!" Mikey exclaimed in disbelief as he abruptly came to a stop a few feet away from his eldest brother, allowing Raph to catch him.

Both fell into the pool with a big splash, making Donnie let out a relieved sigh, "I didn't think they'd stop any time soon."

"It would've been sooner if Leo was actually alert today," April whispered to Donnie. The two watched as their fearless leader began to doze off, constantly stopping himself every time his chin hit his plastron. "Is he okay, Donnie?"

Either Donnie didn't hear her or didn't have an answer to the question. "Hey, Leo," Donnie called. Called turtle rubbed his tired eyes before turning to Donnie, if it weren't for the mask, you'd be able to see the bags under Leo's eyes, those of which were slightly visible through the said piece of fabric. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Leo answered drowsily, rubbing his left eye, "yeah, I'm fine, Donnie."

"You sure?" Donnie asked, "You look a bit...tired."

"Don't worry, D," Leo yawned, "I'm okay," he said from the back of his throat as he stretched his arms up before relaxing on the bean bag.

"Leo, you need to get some sleep," Donnie ordered.

"I'm serious, Donnie," Leo managed to say despite a wave of exhaustion washing over him, "I'm fine..." At the last word, Leo gave in to the much needed sleep.

"We're gonna have to move him," Donnie stated, "He's not gonna be able to sleep very well that way."

At the moment, April's phone rang, waking the leader up. April gasped as she got up and out of the lair with her stuff, telling Leo to go back to sleep as she passed him.

The only time she dared to look at her phone was when she was up the manhole cover and on the streets, headed for home. The picture of a tanned girl with neatly combed shoulder length dark brown hair with cream lowlights and brown eyes with the label 'May O'Neil' was up on her screen.

April brought the phone up to her ear as she answered it.

"May?"

" _April, hey, can I ask you a favor?_ " her cousin requested.

"What favor?" April asked.

" _You_ do _know that GMH is raising money for the kindergarten building, right? I told you about it last time,_ " May started.

"Yeah, why?"

" _Well, Amanda, Justine, and I volunteered for the fundraiser._ "

"Really? That's great!"

" _Yeah! It's so awesome!_ " May squealed. Then April heard someone sternly hit the table. " _Oh, right. Can you come over and help Amanda bake? We ran out of sales halfway through the day._ "

"Sure, be right there," April replied.

" _Thanks a lot, coz._ "

"No problem," April smiled as she hung up. She put away her phone and let out a satisfied sigh. _This is gonna be great._

9

"April, I'd like you to meet Amanda and her older sister, Justine," May smiled, gesturing to her friends.

"Hey," Justine greeted briefly as Amanda waved with a gentle smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm April," May's cousin smiled, shaking the sisters' hands.

"Dad's side?" Justine asked.

"Yeah," April replied.

"Did they agree to name you in consecutive months, or something?" Justine questioned.

The two cousins were lost, as if they didn't know the reason behind their names, because they didn't. " _Uh..._ "

Justine chuckled, "I was just kidding. April, you and Amanda better get baking," she said. She lifted a few boxes of cake pops, May carrying the rest, which was a lot. "May and I will be at the GMH gym."

Justine walked out the back door, May following. "Have fun you two," May added.

As the door closed with a click, the two girls stood in silence as Amanda poured in the next batch of cakes. The only time April decided to talk was when the other girl's egg timer went off.

"So, uh..." April started as Amanda got a round of cakes out the oven, placing them down on the stovetop to cool as she put in the next batch, "How can I help?"

"You can start by frosting those cakes over there"—Amanda gestured to the red velvet cakes on the stove counter—"with the buttercream frosting over there"—she pointed to the bowl filled with a thick white substance placed on the pad of an electric mixer with the machine part raised up— "using the this," Amanda finished, handing April a frosting tool.

"Um..."

"Just act as if the cake's a bread, the frosting's the butter, or whatever you put on bread, and this"—Amanda pointed to the spatula-like tool in April's hand—"is the spreading knife, except instead of just spreading the butter on the top, you spread it on all sides except the bottom. Any questions regarding my instructions?" Amanda finished. April shook her head nervously. Amanda sighed, "Good, now go," she ordered.

April did as told, but she couldn't help the glances she secretly passed at Amanda while she was doing her job. _Amanda is such a gentle-looking girl, how would she be so stern?_

9

"Thanks for bringing the pastries here, mom," Justine smiled.

"No problem, dear. April and Amanda just need more ingredients. So I thought: might as well bring the sales here while I'm at it," Mrs Baker returned the smile.

"How are those two doing, anyway?" Justine asked.

"I don't know," Mrs Baker replied with a small shrug, "They _have_ been pretty quiet."

"I'll call April," May said, "see how's it going."

9

Amanda tapped the marble countertop with a spoon. She was bored, but what could she do? She was in her house with a her best friend's cousin.

Amanda was a very shy girl. She was also negative, her gloomy fashion showed it. The only known thing that was an unexpected twist in her personality was her love for baking. May was a very positive person. The two are best friends for two reasons: opposites attract and they cancel each other out.

"So..." April started. Amanda could tell that she was lost for words. "How long have you and May been best friends?" April didn't know what she was saying. She knew how long those two have been best friends! May was her closest cousin, always telling her about her life ever since they first met.

"You know the answer to that," Amanda replied bluntly.

"Uh..."

"You're nervous," she added.

April's heart nearly jumped out of her chest when Amanda read her like a kindergarten book. April was sure that she looked just as bored as Amanda did, and that her back was turned on the her, so how could she read her? Was she shaking?

April slowly turned Amanda, who was now idly tapping a spoon, who knows where she got it, on the counter top.

"You... you must read people really well," April started, her second attempt to start a conversation was just as futile as the first.

"Thanks. I get that a lot," Amanda replied, not making eye contact.

April let out a silent sigh as she diverted her gaze to the tiled floor below her. Then the spoon taps slowed and started coming together in a beat unfamiliar to April, but a satisfying beat was equal to music. She dared to glance up at Amanda, whose lips were making small movements, as if she were singing. April strained her ears to hear the surprisingly soft vocals of Amanda.

' _If you would be the popcorn_

 _I would be the movie_

 _If you were strawberries_

 _Then I would be the smoothie_

 _If you were October_

 _I'd be apple cider_

 _And if you where the waffle fries_

 _Then I would be the slider_ '

"That's a nice voice of yours," April commented, only loud enough for Amanda to hear.

The spoon tapping stopped as Amanda started at April in surprise. No one has ever heard her sing before, much less compliment her voice.

"You...you heard me?" Amanda asked shyly.

"Yes. I'm actually surprised at how good you sing," April smiled. "Can you sing again?

"Oh, no it's only good when I sing softly," Amanda denied. That actually wasn't true, the louder she sang, the better her voice became, but she was too shy to admit it.

"You're lying," April said bluntly.

"How could—"

"You're not the only person who could read others in the room," April replied with a smirked.

Before Amanda could retort, April's phone rang. The latter took her phone out of her pocket and saw an olive green turtle with girly clip art all around with the caller's ID labeled 'Donnie-Boy'.

"I need to take this," April said, pushing herself off the counter and walking to the living room.

"Sure sure," Amanda called after her before her own phone rang. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a black phone in a dark pink case, as opposed to her normal clothing. On the screen was May leaning forward in an attempt to catch two eggs that were on her nose. _Answer._ "Hey, May, what's up?"

" _Hey, Amanda, is April still there?_ " May asked

"Yeah," Amanda replied, turning to the doorway, where she could see April talking with someone on the phone, "why?"

" _She's not answering my calls._ "

"That's because someone called her."

" _Seriously? Justine, your mother, and I have been worrying for the past two minutes just because someone else called her?_ "

"Yeah," Amanda replied bluntly, "but why are you so worried?"

" _Because April_ _ **always**_ _,_ _ **always**_ _answers._ "

"Well you don't have to worry, she just got a call."

9

 _Answer._

"Hey, D, what's up?" April called.

" _It's Mikey, April,_ " a sad voice corrected. It was Mikey, but he was sad. Like, _really_ sad.

"Mikey? Is there something wrong?"

" _It's Leo. He's poisoned._ "


	2. Chapter 2

"Amanda, sorry I can't help you, but I gotta go right away!" April yelled from the living room.

" _What did she say?!_ " May yelled from the other side of the line.

"What? Why?" Amanda asked, placing her phone screen down on the counter.

"I-it's my brother," April stuttered, gripping the kitchen doorway, "I-I mean my friend—my brother—it's just—he's poisoned!"

"What?!" Amanda exclaimed in disbelief. "By what—why?!"

"I-I don't know, but his brother told me to go get some supplies," April said.

"Let me come with you!"

" _Amanda, dear,_ " Mrs Baker called from the phone, " _the school's gonna be open in a couple of hours!_ "

Amanda sighed and picked up her phone and scratched her head. "Forget the ingredients, mom. Girls, sell what's left. I'm gonna help April's friend," she said.

" _Amanda, you don't even know who you're helping,_ " Justine said before Amanda hung up.

"Amanda, you don't have to-" April said.

"Look," Amanda sighed stressfully. "I lost my grandfather because of food poisoning. I don't want that to happen to anyone else."

"I...I'm sorry," April swallowed, looking down, her grip of the doorway relaxed.

"It's fine," Amanda said, "He was ready to leave and it was gonna happen sooner or later, right?" April nodded bitterly. "Now, let's go."

9

"April, you know that we love you as a sister and all, but Leo's not gonna be happy."

"Screw Leo, I'm helping your brother!" Amanda exclaimed, taking a step toward the orange banded turtle, who leaned back a tad.

The orange turtle looked at April with wide eyes. The red head was sheepish.

"Uh, Amanda," April called, a slight movement of her hand towards the brunette shoved up the turtle's face.

Amanda turned around, a sweet, friendly look her face. "Yeah?"

"You just screwed the boy-er, turtle- you came to help," April said, looking away with a hint of pink on her cheeks from embarrassment.

Amanda blinked. The corners of her mouth twitched up in confused amusement. "You're kidding."

9

"You're _not_ kidding," Amanda stated, standing at the door of the leader's room. Her eye twitched.

"April, why is there a stranger in Leo's bedroom?" Raph asked in a whisper, covering his mouth with his hand. "You _do_ know that Leo's gonna kill you for this, right?"

"What can I do?" April whispered the loudest she could. "She's _very_ persistent."

"Well you know her. You, of all people, should know how to deal with her."

"But I just met her today."

" **What?!** " Raphael exclaimed, a little too loudly. Leo stirred and propped himself up in his elbows as his woke up.

"Aw sewer apples," Donnie grunted as he rushed to Leo's side and laid him back down. "Leo, you gotta rest."

Leo slowly began to open his eyes that filled with pain and sleepiness. "...Don...ie?"

"Leo, go back to bed, there's nothing you should worry about," Donnie reassured him.

"Besides the fact that you're literally poisoned and you're gonna get angry at me for coming over when I just wanted to help," Amanda mumbled angrily. April heard it, and she hoped that Leo didn't.

"Wha...t was...that?" Leo asked, propping himself on his elbows, only to be pushed back down by Donnie.

"What was what?" Mikey asked form the foot of Leo's bed. A big smile was plastered on his face, but you could tell that he and his other brothers heard it.

"Me," Amanda mumbled, this time with a stifled chuckle.

"That," Leo replied hurriedly.

"I...didn't hear anything at all, Leo," Donnie reassured with a nervous grin.

Amanda stifled a giggle, and Leo noticed it.

"There's someone else in here," he rasped.

"Uh...your voice sounds rough Leo. I'll get you some water! Get some rest!" Mikey said, too quickly. He ran out, grabbing Amanda's hand.

9

Amanda squeaked as Michelangelo jerked her out of the room with such force, she almost thought she dislocated her arm. He brought her to some kind of kitchen then ran out with a full glass of water, a miracle not spilling it.

Amanda just stood there in confusion. She stared at the curtained doorway the orange clad turtle had just exited. She raised a brow and shook her head to clear her mind. The smell of the sewer wasn't as bad here, maybe the melted candles at the top of the cupboards had something to do with it. She walked to what looked like an island table in the center of the room and ran her fingers across it, she picked it up and was surprised to see nothing on her hand. This time, she ran her entire right hand across the surface, counting all the cracks in the stone. Amanda kicked the material that held the stone table up from underneath. It was solid. Solid rock.

 _If this was an abandoned subway,_ she thought, _then why would the table be made of stone? Then again, the table looks a lot more cracked than the counter. But how— Maybe it was moved here from a junkyard or something. Yeah. Convince yourself. But it's not like they're cavemen or anything._ Amanda smiled at the thought.

"Caveman turtles," she chuckled, "yeah right."

9

"April, we're all gonna be in _big_ - **huuuuuge** trouble if Leo finds out that there's a stranger in the lair," Donnie said.

April sighed, "Yeah, D, I'm aware, but it's kinda hard not to let her come. Because I know it's either that or I'm gonna have a stalker on my tail."

Donnie looked at her in worry. This stranger had to get out of here before they _all_ got in trouble. If not, who knows what'll happen. He was under enough stress of finding a cure for Leo, and now there was this emo brunette invading their home and they were trying to _protect_ her! Well, it's for their own sake, _but_ **still**!

Donnie ran a hand across his wrinkled forehead and turned to the kitchen, where Mikey left the girl, or so he said. With his little brother, you'll never know.

Donnie turned back to April, who was just as concerned. He planted his hand on her shoulders and looked at her as gently as his stress would let him. "Why don't you tell your friend that it's nice of her to help, but she has to leave and pretend that this never, _ever_ happened," he asked, but it was clearly more of an order.

April gave a shy nod and brushed Donnie's hands off and walked to the kitchen. Donnie knit his brows together and sighed for the hundredth time today. He turned to the clock, it was about five. He could go out. Kinda. He's been out at four before, five wouldn't hurt. Plus it was almost winter so nights _will_ be longer. And if he was not mistaken, the sun had set a few minutes ago. He could use a break. Plus maybe he'd grab some stuff on the way home. Yeah, he's going with her.

"Hey, April," he called unsurely, reaching a hand out to her.

"Yes, Donnie?" April replied, turning to him with a small smile on her face. That smile flushed Donnie of his color. He wondered if April noticed.

"I... Can I...go with you? I - I mean, bring April home with the girl. Aw, wait, no! I mean, can I go home with you?" Donnie mentally hit himself at all his failed attempts, but April knew what he was talking about and replied with a small 'yes'. Added with 'we _could_ use some more time together'. One could take the latter as an offense, but Donnie took it as a compliment and fainted as soon as April's back was turned.

9

"Hey, Amanda-" April stopped short on her tracks as she saw Amanda handing Ice Cream Kitty a chocolate square. The mutant kitten looked at it curiously before giving it a small lick. The pet meowed with a smile in thanks and started sucking the sweet as Amanda closed the freezer door with a smile.

The brunette turned her head to April. She was shocked to see the red head there. "Oh, uh, _hey_ , April," she stuttered with a nervous chuckle. There was an awkward silence in between the two girls. Then Amanda's eyes went wide in realization. "...how much of that did you see?"

"...From the part where you gave Ice Cream Kitty chocolate," April replied.

"Oh, wait- did I do something wrong?" Amanda asked guiltily.

"What? No! ... okay, you _did_ come here and that was gonna get all of us in trouble, but about the Ice Cream Kitty thing... It was actually kinda cute. And...I wasn't expecting that from you," April smiled, "This day is full of surprises, isn't it?"

Amanda looked down as her cheeks flushed. "I..guess."

"Aw, don't worry about it _too_ much, Amanda," April said, walking over and placing a hand on Amanda's shoulder.

"Okay," Amanda sighed, rubbing her hand on her arm.

"C'mon, let's get you home before Leo forces himself up and we all get into more trouble than we were supposed to," April said, leading Amanda to the lair entrance, where they met up with Donnie and left.

9

"She's supposed to be goth?" Donnie asked as he and April trekked through the sewers, back to the lair. The two had just brought Amanda to her school, as she requested they do, and they were now walking in peace even though Donnie's legs were killing him in due to his attempt to beat April and Amanda, who had taken the subway.

"Well, so I heard," April said, "but other students say that she's emo."

"What's the difference?" Donnie asked. April responded with a shrug. "You said that she was nice to Ice Cream Kitty." April nodded. "It could merely mean that her personality's not all-in-all goth or emo, if there ever _is_ a difference."

"Yeah...but, her singing a romantic recipe song? I don't think that's normal," April replied.

"It _could_ be a normal thing. You just met her, April," Donnie said. He tensed as no reply came. Donnie coughed in attempt to get April's undivided attention. He didn't know whether or not he succeeded since he didn't dare to glance at her. Instead, he kept his eyes on the path in front of them. "I mean— you're worried...why?" Donnie asked, trying to bring back the conversation. He didn't care about this girl too much, if at all, but it was bothering April and _that_ was bothering him.

"It's just—" April's muscles stiffened as she lifted her fists, as if trying to grasp something in the air. After a second or two, she slumped in defeat. "There's something about her that doesn't seem right," she admitted, bringing her hands to her elbows and lightly hugging herself.

Donnie's brows knit together as he saw her worried state. He _hated_ seeing her like this. It's not like her to be so worked up about something. He had to do _something_. But what were you supposed to do when your crush was all wound up and you have no idea how to help them? Donnie had to look that up later, but right now, he had to do what he could. He gently clamped a hand on her shoulder in silent reassurance.

"If she's troubled, I want to help her," April murmured, Donnie barely heard it, but he did. "...If she's hurt, I want to comfort her...and...and if she's lonely, I want to be there for her, give her company."

 _This_ was the April Donnie knew. Helpful, whether she knew the person very well or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**This** was _not_ the Amanda Justine knew. Distracted and constantly spacing out, yet helpful, extremely concerned, and not afraid to show it. _What was wrong with her?_

It was the weekend or so after the school fundraiser. A weekend or so after Amanda had gone off to help April's friend. A weekend or so after she had changed. _Maybe it was just her excess concern leaking out_ , Justine had thought, but _**boy**_ was she _wrong_.

"I can handle it, Amanda," May insisted.

"Don't worry about it, May," Amanda replied as she picked up the rest of her friend's books.

Justine watched from the sidelines, daring to steal glances at the small crowds murmuring amongst each other.

May was just as confused, and even more concerned. Whatever happened that day must've done something to Amanda.

After the trio had walked out of the school and escaped the crowds of rumors, Justine noticed the small smile on Amanda's lips. The way the corners were held up made her look gentler and kinder than the normal Amanda would want everyone to know.

"Hey, sis," Justine called with a hint of worry in her tone.

Amanda turned to her older sister, concerned. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, stopping abruptly, causing the other two to stop as well.

Justine twisted her lips into a thin line as she stared into her little sister's big, brown eyes filled with concern. She sighed. "It's...it's about you, Amanda."

"Did..." -said girl diverted her eyes to the ground in shame- "Did I do something wrong?"

"Well..." May started, rubbing the back of her neck. "Not _really_..."

Justine sighed and turned to her sister, "It's just that you've been acting odd recently. Is everything okay? Did something happen the day of the bake sale?"

Each question pushed Amanda closer to the edge. She didn't want to (was not allowed to) expose anything about April's friends, but she also didn't want to hide anything from her closest friends and family. _How was she supposed to deal with all this?_

"Amanda?" Justine started, reaching her hand out to her sister.

Suddenly, Amanda broke into a sprint, gripping May's hand and taking her best friend with her to who-knows-where, leaving Justine in the dust.

Being the elder sister, Justine followed. The problem was: Amanda had a head start and she was much, much faster than her older sister. How? No one cared to know, but now Justine wished she knew.

Soon, thunder rumbled and the dark sky began to drizzle, forcing Justine had to take shelter so she rushed home. A few blocks away, Amanda pressed herself against a fence as May looked at her worriedly.

"Amanda-"

"I need all ways to contact April, _quick_ ," Amanda said, clasping her hands on May's shoulders.

"What? Why?" May asked. _Okay, what the_ _ **heck**_ _was going on?_

"I just need it," Amanda pressed.

"Amanda, I get that you'd like to spend more time with April, but why _all_ ways to contact her?"

Amanda's hands slipped off May's shoulders as she walked ahead with her back turned. Guilt made its way to May's heart as she watched her best friend wade the sidewalks to her home. Amanda's smile was gone, her head was hung, and her long light brown hair was droopy, whether it was from the rain or not, _she looked miserable_.

May sighed as she walked up to her friend and smacked a hand onto her best friend's shoulder, making her look up in surprise.

"I'll text you all ways I know how to contact April _and_ her address," May said. Amanda's dark brown eyes went wide in surprise with a tad of glee. "But you better know what you're doing. I may be open and honest to April, but that doesn't mean that she's the same. She's my closest cousin, yet she still hides things from me. So if you find out what those things are, be sure to let me know, alright?"

Amanda nodded her head enthusiastically, a bright grin plastered on her face as she interlocked her fingers below her chin. She hugged May tight as the latter hugged back. Amanda pulled away, but kept an arm's length away from May.

"I already know some things that April's been hiding from you, but I can't tell you, not yet. Not until I get all the facts. Alright?" Amanda said.

May chuckled, "Take all the time you need, Almond."

Amanda returned the chuckle, "Remember when I said not to call me that? Forget it, time for a new Amanda."

"A new, positive Amanda?"

"Probably... **not**. But, you get the point," Amanda smiled.

9

"Wait... _ **what?!**_ "

April slammed her hand on the table, making the teacups on Mikey's tray jump.

" _You heard me the first time, April_ ," May replied as Mikey caught the two teacups on his tray without spilling a single drop before exiting the kitchen, " _Amanda's been acting strange and she said it has something to do with the day she helped your friend. I know you're not all in all honest with me, but Amanda is. You have to trust her, April. Amanda's not the girl you think she is. You told me that she sings, that's normal, you also told me that she's kind to your friend's cat, that's normal...ish, she usually doesn't show it, though. The Amanda everyone knows is emo, goth, and doesn't give a care in the world. The real Amanda is kind, gentle, loving, caring, and all that nice stuff. The only thing that the real and known Amanda have in common is that fact that they're both pessimists._ "

"And you're an optimist, that's how you two became best friends, right?" April asked.

"Yeah," May chuckled, "Remember when you told me that one of your friends is an optimist as well?"

"Well...more or—" April started, but was interrupted by a turtle's yelp and clanking. "Mikey!" April exclaimed, running out the kitchen, only to find Mikey ushering Leo back to bed. The a damaged pot, tray, and cups were scattered on the floor in a rather large pool of tea.

9

"April? April, is everything okay?!" May asked.

"What happened?!" Mrs Baker asked as she rushed out of her office, followed by Justine from her room and Amanda from hers.

"I...I don't know, I was talking to April and then something happened," May panted.

"Is she okay?!" Justine asked, leaning over the rail.

"I hope she is," Amanda replied as she hopped down the stairs.

The four waited in anticipation as she heard thumping, shuffling, scolding, and ushering from May's phone. Soon, however, April came back.

" _May? You still there?_ " April asked. With that, they relaxed

"As sure as heck I'm still here!" May exclaimed, "You couldn't just leave me like that!"

" _Sorry, May, it's just that my friend was pois—_ "

"We got it the first time you said it, April," Justine cut in, snatching the phone from May's hand and put it on loud speaker.

"We're just as concerned for you as we are for Leo," Amanda added.

April sighed, " _Okay, I get it. It's just that Leo got up when he isn't supposed to, and everyone's just worried he'll push himself too hard._ "

"Why would he do that, darling?" Mrs Baker asked.

" _Because he_ _ **always**_ _does_ ," a low, rough voice grumbled. " _The hell, Leo?! Get back to bed!_ " it exclaimed, soon followed by footsteps, a weak yelp, and a door slam.

A stressful sigh escaped someone else's lips, " _We're gonna need chains to hold that turtle down._ "

Justine let out a nervous and unsure chuckle, "...Pardon?"

"Turtle?" May asked, "April, you're telling me we're concerned for a **turtle**?"

9

"Sorta..." April replied unsurely as she turned to the turtles. Mikey was cleaning up the tea mess, Raph could be heard scolding Leo and threading to smack the green out of him if he doesn't stay in bed, and Donnie was drinking coffee in the pit straight out of the pot. They were all stressed, and now four other people were trying to throw themselves into the issue. Three out of a four of these people were people she only met last week!

" _More or less_ ," Amanda added nervously.

Amanda's sister sighed stressfully, " _Amanda, I know that you have a sweet,_ _ **sweet**_ _heart, but a turtle? Seriously?!_ "

"I feel offended," Donnie commented, his red brown eyes filled with stress and tiredness as his mask sat on the top of his head.

" _Dude, you_ _ **can't**_ _be offended,_ " May said, " _Unless you're a turtle_."

Justine scoffed, " _Yeah right._ "

Donnie's eye twitched at the comment and got up. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in my lab," he said, walking to his quarantine. "Making a cure for a poisoned **turtle**!" he added, and with that, he slammed his lab doors shut.

9

"Girls," Amanda called, "you _seriously_ offended him. Go apologize."

"What?" Justine and May chorused in offense.

"Amanda's right, girls," Mrs Baker said, "If April wants to worry about a turtle, then let her, but that doesn't give you an excuse to offend anyone."

Justine bowed her head in shame while May looked away, both mumbling apologies to the elderly.

9

" _ **Sewers?!**_ " Justine exclaimed.

"Are you sure we're going the right way, dear?" Mrs Baker asked.

"I'm _sure_ , mom," Amanda replied.

"Why would April even set up a meeting in the sewers?!" Justine yelled in exasperation.

"Maybe she wanted to talk about this issue in private?" May said, trying to sound optimistic.

"True true," Amanda said, looking at her phone. "We should be...right...here!" She looked up and saw that they were in a large chamber with several pipes and grates.

"Are you _still_ sure?" Justine asked.

"No," Amanda grumbled.

"Well, that's just **great**!" The older sister yelled, turning her heel, "Let's go home!"

" _Hey, sorry I'm late._ "

They all spun around and saw May's cousin in a black and yellow jumpsuit and a black headband. Her hair was in pigtails and her arms were crossed. A large bruise clung to her right cheek.

"April!" May exclaimed, running to her cousin. "Are you okay?!"

April smiled a tad, despite the pain on her cheek. "I'm fine, May. Just a bruise."

"On your **face**!" May pointed out worriedly. "What are you supposed to tell your dad?! That you went out and fought a bunch of gangsters?"

"Yes," April answered bluntly, dropping her smile.

"Wha-how?" May stammered, stunned. By then, the other three were able to make it to them.

"Your dad knows, right?" Amanda asked. April nodded, diverting her gaze to the ground.

"Hey, uh," Justine started. April looked up, "We—May and I— are _so_ sorry about you know…earlier. We were just _really_ surprised on how concerned one can be over a turtle."

The corners of April's mouth twitched up in a smile. "It's okay," April replied.

"So... we're good?" May asked.

"Definitely," April said, playfully nudging May's arm with her elbow. April let out a small gasp as her clasped her shoulder in pain.

"April!" May gasped, poised to catch her cousin if she ever falls.

"I'm fine. My shoulder's just sprained."

" _ **Sprained?!**_ "

"Do you need any help, darling?" Mrs Baker asked.

"No..." April panted, "I...I'm fine."

"Are you _sure_?" Justine jumped in.

April let out a soft, pained chuckle, "Yeah, now stop asking those questions. You're beginning to panic me."

The three were not convinced, but Amanda changed the subject before they could question anything else.

"So... how's Leo?" she asked, rubbing her arm nervously while avoiding any eye contact.

April sighed as she diverted her gaze opposite of Amanda's. "He's fine. Donnie put some kind of non-toxic desensitized formula that prohibited Leo from moving his limbs." She chuckled lightly, "You should've seen face when he found out he couldn't get up."

There was a moment of silence. No one dared to speak as April's grip tightened around her arms.

"Can I…Can we…?" Amanda began, turning her gaze up to meet April's.

April shrugged her good shoulder with a smile, "I know Leo will probably kill me and the guys for this, but I wouldn't let you come into the sewers if they didn't tell me to."


	4. Chapter 4

"He's fast asleep," May cooed.

"For once," Raph huffed, patting his leader's forehead.

"He's...going to be okay...right?" Amanda asked, turning to April.

"Let's hope," she replied.

"April?"

The redhead turned her head to the not-so-happy prankster. "Donnie wants to see you. Check you for injuries and stuff."

"She's got an injury alright," May murmured.

Mikey turned his head back to April, who had twisted her lips in an uncomfortable frown.

"Talk to Donnie," he sighed, brushing past her and taking a seat next to Raph.

April sighed in despair and went straight for Donnie's lab, not even bothering to accompany the Bakers or her cousin in anyway.

April grunted in pain as she slid the heavy metal doors open. Lo and behold: Donatello Hamato, typing away in his computer, dark bags under his eyes, pupils nothing but pinpricks.

"Donnie?" April called softly. The gap-toothed turtle snapped his head to April in an instant. He didn't look like the gentle Donnie April knew. "Mikey said you wanted to see me?"

Donnie leaned back on his chair stressfully, gesturing April to come in. She did as told and sat on a chair. As Donnie checked her over, April noticed the light streaks at random parts of Donnie's skin. So not only was Donnie dehydrated, but he was also scratching himself and he could hurt himself if this habit doesn't leave anytime soon.

"Donnie," April flinched as Donnie touched her shoulder. The turtle sighed stressfully as he looked up at her. "Please don't hurt yourself."

Donnie sighed wearily, "I'll try not to."

At the door, Amanda silently watched the scene unfold. She huffed out of concern and slid the lab doors shut.

9

" _Wow_ , April, I didn't know your friend knew how to bake!" Mikey squeaked as he accepted the batch of chocolate chip cookies that Amanda had given them.

"April's at home, Mikey," Donnie said, rubbing his eye and taking another sip of his coffee.

"Oh," Mikey chuckled sheepishly as he turned to his brother, "right." He turned back to their guest, who had a small, sweet smile plastered on her face, "Thanks, dudette. You really know how to make a guy smile."

"No prob...uh...Mikey, right?" Amanda replied.

"The one and only," the turtle replied, grinning brightly.

Amanda chuckled, "Well, nice to see you again. See you soon?"

"Totally," Mikey said, beginning to walk away. Not even a step later, her stopped, turning back to Amanda, "High five?"

Amanda chuckled and slapped her hand on Mikey's three fingered one.

"See ya," she winked before walking away, leaving a stunned Mikey staring at his hand.

"Lovestruck again, Mikester?" Donnie asked teasingly.

"Shut up," Mikey grumbled.

9

" _If you would be the popcorn, I would be the movie_

 _If you were strawberries then I would be the smoothie_

 _If you were October, I'd be apple cider_

 _And if you were the waffles fries then I would be the slider_

 _Cause you and me, we make each other better_

 _We may not be perfect, but we're perfect together_

 _You and me, we'll make it through whatever_

 _We may not be perfect, but we're perfect together_ "

"I didn't know that Amanda played piano," April whispered.

Justine chuckled softly, "She's full of surprises."

" _Da-da-da, da-da-da-da_

 _Da-da-da, da-da-da-da_

 _Da-da-da, da-da-da-da_

 _Da-da-da_

 _If you were Sunday brunch, I'd be eggs and bacon_

 _If you were hot chocolate, I'd be the winter night you stay in_

 _If you were a candy, I would be the wrapper_

 _And if you were marshmallows then I'd be the graham cracker_ "

"And she said that she didn't sing," April chuckled.

"She's still in-denial," Justine replied.

"Really?" April asked, passing a side-stare at the pianist's older sister.

Justine shook her head with a smile, "C'mon, let's get out of here before she kills us."

"For what?"

"For watching her perform without her consent."

April rolled her eyes playfully. "Is that illegal?"

"She calls it stalking. Now, c'mon, before she kills us."

" _Cause you and me, we make each other better_

 _We may not be perfect, but we're perfect together_

 _You and me, we'll make it through whatever_

 _We may not be perfect, but we're perfect together_

 _What's the point of apple pie_

 _Without the ice cream on the side?_

 _That'd be like not having you tonight_

 _And what's the point of a fondue_

 _Without the chocolate too?_

 _That'd be like me not having you_

 _Da-da-da-da, da-da-da_

 _Da-da-da-da, da-da-da_

 _Da-da-da-da, da-da-da_ "

9

"I haven't done it before, but I'm sure that it's a bad-no, _terrible_ idea to add pizza into cake."

"Says who?" Mikey asked, bringing out a box of moldy pizza.

"...Why do you have that in there?" Amanda asked, raising a brow.

Mikey shrugged with a smile, "Reasons."

"Do you regret it now?"

"Maybe a little," Mikey replied, watching as Raph and Donnie crammed themselves into the bathroom; Raph puking into the toilet and Donnie throwing up at the sink.

" _So_ thankful you told me not to eat that cake," Leo mumbled. Donnie was able to find a cure for his poison, and he had gotten better over time. "What was in it anyway?" he added, turning to the two.

"Nothing."

"Moldy pizza."

Leo glared at his younger brother, who not only lied to him, but had also gotten two of their brothers sick.

9

"Amanda's kind of a mouthful, ain't it?" Mikey asked, turning the page of his comic.

"Call me Almond."

"Justine is called Jelly? Really?"

"Don't you get it? We both like almond jelly, so May called me Almond and Justine Jelly. Almond, Jelly!"

"I thought you were younger."

"I **am**!"

"Then why are _you_ Almond?"

"Because she likes to secretly put almond extract in her cake so that she can enjoy it more, leaving us all to wonder why does the cake taste like jelly," Justine mumbled.

9

Amanda sat on her bed, looking at her phone when her door burst open and her phone was snatched away.

"And what do we have here?" Justine asked slyly, looking at the phone.

"Justine!" Amanda yelped, trying to get her phone back, but her older sister held her head back, but her arms were still flailing for the phone.

"Michelangelo Hamato?" she asked, side-staring at her younger sister with a sly smirk. "You like him, don't you?" Amanda's cheeks went red. She tried to get her phone back, whining and stuff, but failed.

"Fine," she huffed, sitting back on her bed. "I do like him, but _don't_ **tell** _**anyone**_ -or else."

"Sure sure," Justine replied, tossing the phone to her sister.

"Did you know that Amanda likes Mikey?" Justine announced, receiving questions from two of the turtle brothers, April, and May.

At the kitchen, Mikey had head, along with Donnie who was drinking straight from the coffee pot...again.

"Did you hear that, D?" Mikey squeaked, "Almond likes me back!"

" _All_ the girls you fell in love with like you back, Mike," Donnie replied in a bored tone, making Mikey pout.


	5. Chapter 5

A month or two after Amanda's first encounter with the turtles, the school let out. The day after that, April received a scholarship from the University of John Dalton. As celebration, Justine, May, and Amanda decided to go out on a play date, brining April along, of course.

Right now, under the noontime sun, the girls were having lunch under a table with a pink and brown parasol that kept them out of the sun's rays.

"You guys remember the _second_ time Mikey baked a cake?" April asked.

"You mean the time where he put pizza without mold into the cake? Yeah, totally," Justine groused, stirring her drink with her straw.

Amanda giggled, "She only remembers it because I didn't warn anyone -or at least her- about it that time."

"Yeah," her older sister grumbled.

"You should've seen the look of Leo's face when he took a bite out of the cake!" May chuckled.

"Too bad Donnie and Raph didn't get a slice," Justine smiled.

"That's because they learned from the _last_ time," Amanda giggled.

The four girls laughed, enjoying their little moment. Then suddenly, Amanda stopped short. Her stare was blank, and she was frozen in place. The laughter seized at this.

"...Almond?" May called.

April turned her head to Amanda, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Amanda," she called, giving the latter a light shake. She turned to the others, face full of concern, "Something's wrong."

"I've known Almond all my life. She doesn't just stop abruptly like this. She doesn't have any illness or disorder, so what could it be?" May wondered out loud. "Jelly?"

The two turned to the second eldest in the batch whose steel glare was fixed on the table, deep in thought. "Amanda's only like that when she's in complete shock or surprise. I've only seen her do it twice: Once when grandpa died, and the other when..." Justine trailed off, eyes widening. She slowly turned around, the others following her gaze. Behind Justine, a man in his mid-thirties, a woman in her late twenties, and a four year old girl were playing with a baby in a dark blue stroller. Justine glared at them and got up. "Let's go," she said sternly.

Without a word, the others followed, even Amanda as she looked at three ground.

9

"I can't believe it. Leave us for five years then suddenly have the guts to come back to town with a family," Justine yelled out of stress.

May and April's concerned faces were left unnoticed by the stressed sister. Mrs Baker held Amanda closer as she rubbed her arm, trying to soothe her shaking daughter.

"Mom, you can't just let dad do this. He's having and affair! You have to do **somethi—** "

"Justine, that will be enough," Mrs Baker said sternly. Justine held her mouth shut, but her fists were still clenched, just as they were when they got off the bus. Mrs Baker took a breath and diverted her gaze to the tiled floor. "Your dad didn't leave you. He kept sending post cards and money and sometimes try to contact you, but I kept turning him down. I wanted you to forget him. Then earlier this week, he said that he wanted to see you again. He wanted you to have a father once more. He wanted to get married again."

" _Married again?_ " Justine echoed. "Mom, what are you—"

"We had an annulment." Mrs Baker took her time to collect herself before continuing. "He had another love at that time and he decided to break up with me as if it were just a petty relationship. He thought that he could forget about us...but he didn't. The one he fell in love with was a bad woman, a woman who only wanted him for his money. He told me that when he called. He was coming back, but now you have a little sister and a younger brother. It was a mistake, he had said. And with how genuine he was, I let him come," she explained. "That woman you saw, that wasn't his mistress, that was his sister."

At that moment, Amanda wanted to laugh. "Sister?" she asked, voice hoarse from crying. She looked up to her mom.

Mrs Baker chuckled, "Aunt Samantha."

"You mean the one who kept sending us gifts, but she never showed up to any party or get-together?" Justine asked.

Mrs Baker nodded with a small smile, "She never came because she's a scientist, that's why she has a lot of money."

"She never came because she was a scientist?" May asked.

Mrs Baker hummed in approval as she looked at them. "She's a scientist in one of the poles. I don't really know since she's always traveling back and forth between them."

"If she has time to go to opposite sides of the world, then why doesn't she have time to visit her family?" April asked.

"It's not like there are any airports in that area. She barely has time to get on a boat before the next time her pager goes off, but she's here now, and I'm sure you would love to meet you two in person."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Justine cocked her head to the door as she stared at her mom, who nodded. The older sister walked to the door and looked through the peep hole before cautiously opening the door a tad. There stood her father, wavy dark brown hair and black glasses, her Aunt Samantha, wavy hair tied in a pony and gray eyes reflecting the soft lights, a little girl, wavy blond hair in pigtails and dark brown eyes trying to look past her, and a baby, dark brown hair barely seen and big, blue eyes looking at Justine's dark brown ones, in a stroller. Justine looked back up at her dad, who had an apologetic, sincere smile on his lips. His smile was always contagious when it was genuine, and that caused the corner's of Justine's mouth to rise as well.

Justine opened the door all the way and let them in, her father trailed behind them. He stood at the doorway, half in a half out. Justine wanted to hug him tightly, but he beat her to it. His arms warmed around Justine's stiff frame, which had soon relaxed, and she hugged him back.

"Dad!"

Mr Baker turned to the call from his other daughter, who jumped onto him with tears streaming down her eyes.

"Nice to see you again, Amanda," he said, ruffling the top of his daughter's long, light brown hair. "Both of you," he added, looking back at Justine, whose glossy eyes couldn't hold in anymore tears as they ran down her cheeks.

"He smiled at me!" May suddenly squealed. The three turned to see Amanda's best friend jumping up and down while cooing at the baby, who was babbling in response.

9

"Cole?" Amanda chuckled, lightly tossing the baby up and down. "Where'd you get the idea?"

"Honestly, I don't even know," Mr Baker chuckled.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Don't play games with them, Junior," she said, lightly elbowing her brother.

"Junior?" the four teens chorused.

"Oh, hasn't he told you? Your dad's fast name is Kendrick Junior. His _second_ name is Cole," Samantha teased. "So this little fella," she wiggled her finger into Cole's belly, "is Cole Junior Ken Baker."

"That's a _long_ name compared to Almond and Jelly," May said.

Mr Baker chuckled, although not knowing who the two were, unlike his older sister. "Well that's because Cole Jr here is Kendrick's first, and possibly _only_ , son."

"What's your name, then?" April asked the little girl.

"Are you Amanda?" the little girl asked. April shook her head. "Then _you_ must be **Justine**!" April felt herself flush.

May threw her head back and covered her mouth, laughing along with Amanda and Justine.

"She's not Justine, or Amanda, Kelly," Mr Baker said, lifting the little girl up to the couch. "In fact, _I_ don't even know who she is." He turned to April. "I haven't met you before."

"I'm April O'Neil, May's cousin."

"Daughter of Kirby and Gena? I've met them a few times in the past. How're your parents?" Mr Baker asked. At his question, April's eyes widened as she looked down. "Sorry..." Mr Baker said, realizing his question.

"Oh, no, no it's fine," April said, waving it off, "Dad's still okay...it's just that mom went missing when I was six or something."

"What happened?" Justine asked.

"No one knows," May answered.

"Dad just woke me up one night, and we drove to New York as fast as we can. He told me that she was kidnapped, but no body was found. All I know is that her kidnappers or someone sent someone to act like her, make me trust her enough for her to bring me to them. Of course, I found out and she's gone now, and some reason, once I found out, she stuck her hand in a circuit breaker and died," April explained.

"Oh..." Amanda breathed, looking down.

"I'm so sorry," Mr Baker said, placing a comforting hand on April's shoulder.

"No worried, Mr Baker sir. I'll manage, just as I have for the past thirteen years or so," April said.

"Please, call me Kendrick or Ken."

April looked up at him confused. Then another hand landed on her other shoulder. She turned her head to Mrs Baker, who also had a smile on her face.

"Rebecca or Becca," she said.

9

"Nice to know that your dad's back," Mikey said, serving bowls of ramen to his friend and family.

"Yeah, it's great," Amanda mumbled, deep in thought. She turned her gaze up to Mikey as he placed a bowl of ramen in front of her. Whether it was good or not, his smile was just as contagious as her father's.

"You guys should meet them someday," Justine said as Mikey took a seat next to her sister. She quietly smiled to herself.

"I'm not sure that they would like to," April chuckled.

"Why not? Ken's _really_ nice, and Samantha's _really_ smart. You should get to know each other better, Donnie," May said.

"As nice as that may sound, mutant turtle and scientist don't go together," Leo said.

"Agree," Donnie said, "But maybe one day. I might even ask for some scraps."

" _Oh_ , boy," Raph grumbled.

"But can I meet Kelly? Or Cole? Maybe both?" Mikey asked, slamming his hands on the table and slightly standing up in excitement.

Leo sighed as he rolled his eyes. " _No_ , Mikey."

"Aw, but why not?" Mikey whined.

"May I point out that they're human, _and_ their aunt is a scientist?" Donnie said, putting his index finger in the air. "No pun intended," he added.

"No offense taken," May replied, taking a sip from her not-at-all-stolen-from-the-blue-clad-turtle-who-is-currently-glaring-at-her soup.

"They're kids!" Mikey whined.

"Which gives you _more_ of a reason not to meet her."

"But Leo had tea with a little girl once!"

Leo choked on his food, making May giggle, making _her_ choke on _her_ food.

"No!" Leo denied.

"Yes you did, Raph me told me!" Mikey said.

Leo glared at Raph, who shrugged.

Amanda chuckled, "I'm sure you'll get to meet them, Mikey," she said, placing a hand in Mikey's as he sat down, "Someday."

"Urgh! Just get together already!" May exclaimed, looking at the two of them. Amanda immediately drew her hand back.

"Wha- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Didn't hear a thing!"

The two chorused their denies as they turned away from each other, faces red.

"Aw, c'mon, Mike, just admit it, you like her," Raph cooed.

"And she likes you back~" Justine teased, receiving a glare from her sister.

"And so do the other two girls who like you," Donnie deadpanned.

"Wait-what?" Justine stammered as she looked at Donnie.

"Why don't you two just admit your feelings to each other?" May suggested, "Amanda, you go first."

"I don't like Mikey," she mumbled.

" _Really_?"

"Okay, so maybe I do," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"She admits it!" May squealed. Amanda received an applause.

"So what if I do?" Amanda asked, "My parents wouldn't give me their blessing anyway. They won't have any grandchildren out of me."

"You wouldn't have biological children with whoever you get together with. You're infertile, _remember_?" Justine said.

"Shut up!" Amanda yelled (playfully) as she blushed harder.

The others laughed as Mikey looked at her, shocked.

"Orange Almond," May said in between giggles, "I ship it."


End file.
